In the U.S. and around the world, fans’ passion for sports continues to grow. 2013 was no exception—over 33 billion hours of national sports programming were consumed by 255 million people in the U.S., up 27 percent from the 26 billion hours consumed in 2003. From last year's nearly 109 million viewers watching the “Harbowl,” the Beyoncé halftime show and the blackout, to over 21.6 million Germans watching the UEFA Champions League final match, sporting events captured fans’ attention globally.

And with the addition of Nielsen Audio and Scarborough to Nielsen’s portfolio in 2013, our “fanalytics”—what we refer to as the collective intelligence and insights around sports consumers—continues to evolve, helping our clients gain a deeper understanding of the sports fan.